I'm baaack! And ready for more of this fic. So many of you have been trying to guess what's really going on and who's who! ^_^. I'm glad you guys are liking it thus far. I wonder what the K.O.T.W.A.S. would think of it? Sorry, had to do it. So without further ado, I presentttttt the next chapter!
Otaku Pitcher: I'm glad you like the story so far. ^_^.
Metajoker: Yes, and it's a rather good explanation too! But sadly, it kind of takes the whole story to explain it.
Disclaimer: I don't own Fushigi Yugi.
Warnings: Sad. Still gonna be a little sad. And...Miaka?! Dun Dun DUN!
Somewhere Out There
Chapter Three
Quickly Saihitei had jumped into action and before I knew it, both me and him were out of the big room full of what looked like ancient advisors and walking quickly along.
"I was confused before when you disappeared but now that you have reappeared, we must find out what we can about it." Saihitei declared. "After you've had a chance to freshen up a bit after your journey, Kourin."
I can't explain how glad I was that it wasn't all a dream. For some reason I wouldn't have been able to take the fact that Saihitei and all of this didn't exist, because it would pull too much from my own reality. There was something very soothing about this other world, and while I walked along side Saihitei, I tried to think of what it was.
It's because nothing here reminds you of Kourin's death.
"Kourin, here are your rooms and..." Saihitei had led me back to the room I had gotten dressed in before. He was hesitating a little before speaking in a low voice and quiet voice. "I'm sorry to have rushed you out of there but I was er, falling asleep in there with the advisors."
The thought of someone like Saihitei sleeping while having a meeting with their advisors made me giggle. It sounded alien to me. Probably because I didn't really think I'd be able to laugh again.
"Anyways, I'll be waiting out here for you." Saihitei bowed his head a little at me and I went inside the room.
There was only one maid there, Houki, the maid who looked a lot like me was dusting off the tables.
"Lady Kourin!" Houki beamed at me. "I heard so many rumors last night; I didn't know what to believe! One maid told me you were enveloped by a red light and then disappeared!"
"All I can remember is falling asleep, but according to Saihitei, I disappeared." I shrugged.
"Ah..." Houki went starry-eyed for a moment and then blushed. "Sorry, Lady Kourin, I just can't imagine being so privileged as to call his highness by his name like you."
"'S not that big of a deal..." I trailed off. "Um..."
"Oh your clothes! I'm sure you'll want to change." Houki glanced at my outfit. "You wear strange clothes in your country. I mean, I don't mean to offend you, lady."
"Why don't you just call me Kourin?" I asked. "That whole 'lady' thing is a little weird."
"Are you not a noblewoman in your country?" Houki cocked her head to one side curiously.
"Uh, no." I tried not to laugh, considering I wasn't even a woman, let alone noble. Then I went behind the small dressing wall to change my clothes. Of course, I didn't get it quite right and had to have Houki give me instructions again.
When I walked out she began immediately on my hair.
"Your hair is so beautiful..." Houki seemed to like to compliment people as she had already told me how wonderful I looked in the new clothes. I was used to my simple braid, not somebody trying to put my hair up in elaborate hairstyles. "Kourin...what do you think of his highness?"
"He seems pretty nice." I answered truthfully. "But I haven't known him very long, why?"
"He is very kind, isn't he?" I looked at Houki in the mirror who had paused and was looking very far away at the moment. "And so beautiful..."
"Do you like Saihitei?" I blinked a couple of times in the mirror. I don't know why this surprised me, he was good-looking and he was also the emperor which I'm sure caught a lot of girls' attention though; I guess that could also be a bad thing.
"Well...promise not to tell?" Houki asked, looking at me hopefully. It reminded me of Kourin trying to keep a secret but of course failing by telling me. "I'm in love with him."
"Your secret is safe with me." I smiled at him.
"I knew it would be, there's something about you that I trust." Houki nodded in a sort of knowing manner. "I remember, when I was a little girl and his highness' mother had just died...I was working in the kitchens when someone told me his highness had been in the gardens crying by himself. I wanted to go comfort him but I had chores. But I heard that his highness came back from the gardens happy, saying he had seen a vision from Suzaku."
"So...about these gods, you guys don't...you know, have blood sacrifices or anything, right?" I asked sheepishly. What if they did? What if they decided to sacrifice me?
"No." Houki giggled. Then she got a serious look on her face. "I did hear once that Kutou sacrifices people to Seiryuu, but I don't know if that's true."
"Well, if you want, I can talk you up to Saihitei." I offered, going back to the subject at hand. Houki blushed a deep red.
"His highness wouldn't know who I was. I'm just a maid." Houki shook her head. "I'm not important enough to mention. Besides, his highness must marry a lady and he has a harem."
"A harem?!" I was astonished. He just didn't seem like the type.
"The Imperial Harem." Houki repeated. "I heard his highness never visits the house, which is strange. They were gathered when he was eight."
"So young?" I blinked.
"Sometimes the emperor is married quite young." Houki finished up on me. I studied myself in the mirror; it was still fascinating how feminine I looked. It was really like I was a grown-up Kourin. "The emperor probably wants to see you now."
"Yeah, well, don't think you're beneath his notice." I assured her. "I mean, haven't you heard of Cinderella?"
"Who is Cinderella?" Houki pronounced it like a foreign word.
"She's a maid who goes to a ball disguised as a lady." I told her as we left, happy to finally be explaining something instead of the other way around. "And the Prince falls madly in love with her but she has to leave before midnight, and when the clock strikes twelve, she runs out of the palace, leaving behind a shoe."
"So what happens to her?" Houki prompted me, looking fascinated.
"Well, he comes to her house with the shoe, hoping to find the one who fits it." I went on, feeling like I was telling Kourin a bedtime story when she was much younger. "Her stepmother tries to get her two daughters to fit into the shoe. But their feet are too big. So the first sister chops off her toes to fit."
"The Prince's servant notices the blood and they go back. The other stepsister cuts off her heel. But once again, the servant notices. Then Cinderella tries on the shoe and it fits perfectly and they go to live in the castle and live happily ever after." I finished.
"I very much like this story." Houki looked rather dreamy-eyed. "Do you have many tales like that where you come from?"
"Yeah, there's another about this princess who-" I trailed off as I saw something that distracted me. A procession of girls. A line of very elegant and beautifully robed women. The leader was in beautiful blue robes and had a very powerful, regal look on her face.
All the girls looked almost solemn as they proceeded by, disappearing behind a corner until the last girl came. She seemed a bit different.
For one, she had the type of expression you see on a five year old's face when they're trying to be serious. And that was before she stepped on the end of her red robes and tripped, falling flat on her face. I rushed towards her.
"Are you okay?" I asked as I started to help her out and the girl jumped away from me.
"Don't!" She cried out. Then she blinked and looked at me. She had wide green eyes and pretty brown hair. "Oh, I'm very sorry my lady, I thought you were a man."
"Huh?" I went wide-eyed. I mean, I was a man, but I thought it was a little hard to tell.
"Sometimes I can sense when people are coming, but I'm bad at telling whether it's a girl or a boy." She accepted my hand and I pulled her to her feet.
"Does it matter?" I asked.
"Are you the Lady Kourin?" She asked excitedly, looking young with excitement. "I hear you came from Suzaku! The Miko were coming to see you."
"That's me." I didn't realize I was important by any means. I mean, sure I'm from another world but it's not like I knew how I went from one world or another.
"Then it's my duty to educate you!" She declared. "I'm Miaka, a Miko born." Noticing my increasing confusion, she went on. "That means that I was born specifically to be a Suzaku no Miko." Then she leaned in. "Really, I'm just in training, they pick a new Suzaku no Miko every three years but Yui's guaranteed to be the new one."
"What does it mean to be Miko born?" I asked as we were joined by the blonde girl who had been the leader of the procession.
"Miaka!" She looked a bit exasperated. "You've got to keep with the Procession; you could get Touched if you don't!"
"Gomen, Yui." Miaka hit herself on the head. "I tripped and Lady Kourin helped me."
"Oh, the Lady Kourin." Yui bowed towards me. "Please excuse Miaka; she's usually much more polite and calm." I highly doubted what Yui was saying but didn't say that.
"It's fine; she was just explaining what Miko were." I smiled pleasantly.
"Anyways, a Miko born is a girl who's never been touched by a man." Miaka told me. A very cold feeling crept into my stomach and I laughed nervously.
"You mean, like you have to be a virgin?" I guessed, feeling dread settle on me.
"No, it means I can never even accidentally brush against a man or anything. If a man were to lay one finger on me, I'd be Defiled and not fit for the gods!" Miaka looked terrified of the thought.
Oh. Whoops.
I think I've done a very, very bad thing.
I was frozen in my place. I had two choices. One was to tell Miaka the truth about what just happened. The other was to not. All those years of never being near a man and I had stupidly ruined any of her dreams about being a Miko. What do I do?
"Please excuse us, our Procession isn't finished." Yui bowed once more.
"Good-bye Lady Kourin!" Miaka waved cheerfully as they walked away and I stood there dumbly.
Great, now she's 'defiled' and I'm the one who did it.
I imagine the gods are probably pissed.
"Come on, we must see his highness." Houki tugged at my sleeve and I walked after her, contemplating what had just happened.
* * *
His Oh So Royal Highness, Saihitei was waiting for us with a pot of tea. Houki bowed several times and blushing excited as quickly as possible. She sure was shy. Saihitei didn't seem to notice her but was instead focused on me.
"Is something wrong?" Saihitei asked and I jumped a little in response. I couldn't tell him. I bet there was like a penalty for lying to the emperor. And I was terrified of him finding out the truth right then. There was probably a far worse penalty for touching a Miko and being male.
"No, no, I'm just...I have jet-lag." I covered up lamely.
"Jet...lag?" Saihitei obviously had no idea what I was talking about. "Should I send for the doctor?"
"I'll live." I picked up my cup of tea and sipped from it.
"What's the last thing you remember before you disappeared?" Saihitei jumped to proposed topic of conversation.
"That I was tired." I blushed, remembering I had fallen asleep in his arms. What a weird thing to recall. "I just fell asleep."
"And right before you arrived?" Saihitei questioned. I had a sudden image of him dressed up like a detective and tried not to start giggling.
"I...fell asleep." Something clicked in my head. "I must...come here in my sleep! When I woke up from being here, I was in the hospital and they told me that I had been there the whole time, just passed out! I must travel here in dreams! But it feels real."
"Dreams are the gateways to other worlds." Saihitei spoke, sounding very much like a self-help poster. "Have you ever visited another world before?"
"I...don't think so." I shrugged. "I think I would remember something like that."
"It does seem like an extraordinary event to forget, unless of course you thought it was a dream." He said the last part to himself more then to me. He was thinking of something and looked faraway. I wondered briefly what that was but quickly he regained his composure. "I shall give you a grand tour of the palace." Saihitei stood. "Would you like to see it?"
"Okay!" I hopped up.
The palace was pretty big. We went through the palace first; he showed me where the main halls were and the kitchens ("You may ask for anything from them whenever you'd like."). We went by a room with a huge golden statue of Suzaku, where incense was burning. ("This is my private shrine, there's a much larger shrine on the grounds where the Miko live.") Then we went outside, touring the grounds. The gardens were huge. We stopped to sit on a stone bench for a little bit.
"This is my favorite place." Saihitei put a hand on the bench between us.
This may sound weird, but there was something familiar about this place. This bench, something about it, as though I had seen it before. But where?
"It's nice." I looked around at the surrounding flowers. It was quite peaceful. "It reminds me of something...but I'm not sure what."
"It reminds me of something as well." Saihitei gave me a secretive smile that I didn't quite understand. Then we resumed our tour.
I saw the training ground where the Guard was hard at work. It was fun to watch them doing fighting styles. One in particular, a blue-haired young man was demonstrating for what looked like guards-in-training a style of martial arts. Then he froze in mid stance. I followed his gaze and saw the Miko Procession going by. He was focused on one in particular.
Miaka, who also noticed him staring and went bright red, as did he.
Dun dun DUN!
Okay, not needed there Ryuuen.
Looks like somebody likes a Miko, which is obviously a big no-no.
But maybe it doesn't matter now...I mean, she can't really be a Miko again.
Not that she knows that.
"Ah, you've spotted Kishuku." Saihitei noticed the young man. "He's a master of many styles of martial arts and I'm told an indispensable part of the Guard. He once saved my life from an assassination attempt."
"Cool." I looked back at the blue-haired young man.
"So what do you think Kourin?" Saihitei gestured towards the palace. "Do you like it?"
"It's great! I mean, sure it doesn't have running water or electricity but it's still really nice." I began to heap praise on it. "It must be really cool to get to live in a huge palace like that."
"It is nice." Saihitei looked wistful. "But...there are things that go along with living in such a place."
"Being emperor is probably really hard." I sympathized. "I was once class president and that was a lot of work." That's when I felt it. Somebody shaking me. I turned but no one was there.
"Ryuuen, honey, get up." My mother's voice told me.
"Huh? Mom?" I looked questioningly around.
"Kourin?" Saihitei looked concerned but he was growing blurry.
"I think...I might...be waking up..." I said slowly but even as I did, the world around me was fading. I closed my eyes for a second, and when I opened them, I saw my mother's face.
"Some of your relatives are here." My mother told me. "You've been sleeping the whole day away." I saw next to her, on my bedside table was a picture of me and Kourin, perfectly framed. A thought dawned on me.
I hated reality.
* * *
The plot thickens! Ryuuen's screwed things! Or has he?! And I know, I should be focusing on Ryuuen's world a tad bit more but I promise that the next chapter will be mostly Ryuuen's world. Prepare to be saddened. This fic...woah, sometimes I don't know if it's sad or not. It makes me sad for Ryuuen. Poor Nuriko! I don't mean to be so mean to him, I swear. Please review!